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Guest Post By Beth Peluse
Picture your dream vacation. Does it involve beer? We are guessing it does, since you are on the Road Trips for Beer website.
I would like to throw out a dream vacation …

Asheville, North Carolina, lands New Belgium brewery

Asheville, North Carolina, with its gorgeous mountain backdrop, funky downtown and thriving craft beer scene officially scored a brewery coup – its second this year. During a ceremony presided over by North Carolina Gov. Bev Purdue, it was announced today that New Belgium Brewing Co. has chosen Asheville as the site where the Fort Collins, Colorado, brewery will build its second brewing facility.

New Belgium Brewing Co. picked Asheville over a list of competitors, including Philadelphia, to build its East Coast brewery, drawn as much by Asheville’s bike paths and greenways as the city’s growing craft beer scene.

The Fort Collins, Colo., company ranks as the nation’s third-largest craft brewer. It will invest $175 million over the next seven years, bringing 154 jobs to a brewery to be built on the site of the former WNC Livestock Market on Craven Street.

New Belgium Brewing Co. picked Asheville over a list of competitors, including Philadelphia, to build its East Coast brewery, drawn as much by Asheville’s bikepaths and greenways as the city’s growing craft beer scene.

The Fort Collins, Colo., company ranks as the nation’s third-largest craft brewer. It will invest $175 million over the next seven years, bringing 154 jobs to a brewery to be built on the site of the former WNC Livestock Market on Craven Street.

Another renowned West Coast craft brewery, Chico, California-based Sierra Nevada, announced in January that it will build its second brewery in Asheville, which has won the title of “BeerCity USA” as the result of an online poll for the past three years.

With those two major regional breweries joining at least 10 other smaller breweries in Asheville, the North Carolina town of about 85,000 residents becomes an even more premier destination to put on a Road Trips for Beer itinerary.

Here is the official press release from New Belgium:

(Fort Collins, CO) – New Belgium Brewing announced today that Asheville, NC has been selected as the new location for a second brewery. The 400,000-barrel brewery and packaging facility will provide New Belgium with additional capacity allowing the Colorado-based brewer to expand into new areas of distribution. Upon completion in 2015, the facility will initially create 50 new jobs in the Asheville area with more than 100 positions expected at full buildout.

“After several years of searching, we are incredibly excited to have landed in Asheville,” said Kim Jordan, CEO and co-founder of New Belgium. “From the deep sense of community to the rich natural environment and the opportunity to revitalize a brownfield site near a vibrant downtown, Asheville has everything we’ve been looking for in a location for our second brewery.”

The 17.5-acre site located in the heart of the River Arts District will accommodate the 150,000 sq. ft. facility. The brewery will feature a 200-barrel brewing system, a tasting facility, and a process wastewater treatment center on-site. Tours will be available to the public. Total cost projections are over $100 million.

“Today’s announcement by New Belgium will enhance the craft brewery cluster that is growing in North Carolina,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “The jobs and investment the company is committing will be a major boon for the region and for the state.”

Construction is expected to begin in early 2013 with beer rolling off the line in early 2015.